ACN: Can you start by detailing your company’s involvement within the e-commerce/retail space?

Paolo Gagliardi: Trriple is a UAE based FinTech start-up that introduced the Trriple mWallet app, a mobile wallet application for smartphones. The Trriple app provides a digital payment option for users to pay at a merchant which is more convenient, safer, and seamless than cash transactions.

Trriple’s open source payment platform can securely connect with any government, organisation, or banking network in the world. Presently, we are partnering with the leading supermarkets and exchanges in the region and are looking forward to furthering our retail footprint in the UAE over the next few months.

ACN: How has your company continued to expand its capabilities within this particular arena?

PG: Our focus is on making the mobile wallet experience a true alternative to cash transactions and make on-the-go mobile payments possible on a mass scale, in line with the UAE Government’s Vision for a Smart Society by 2021. We are proud to have introduced functionalities to make payments to numerous organisations and merchants, enable P2P transfers, access international remittances, airtime top up and savings pockets, right from your smartphone. We are consistently looking to grow the capabilities of our mWallet to further resolve the pain points of payments for customers.

ACN: At the recent GITEX Technology Week 2017, your company unveiled a new mobile wallet application. Can you share some insights on your platform and its impact on digital payments?

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PG: In these days of accelerated digital transformation, a keenly-awaited development in the UAE is a safe and convenient mobile solution for personal financial transactions that can be funded with cash or bank account. Having studied the financial transaction landscape, Trriple estimates that cash transactions account for 70% of all transactions in the UAE, and according to McKinsey, if the Middle East made digital payments widespread, the region could add $95bn to its GDP by 2020. Trriple aims to play a pivotal role as the first neutral general mobile wallet in the market to speed up the Smart Government goals by enabling digital access to all the services offered to the population including retail payments.

ACN: From your perspective, how do you see the payment ecosystem in retail evolving?

PG: Mobile payments have been quickly evolving as a growing number of retailers in the region are looking to strengthen their ties with the customer by providing convenient payment options followed by engaging reward and loyalty programmes. Forward thinking brands have already offered consumers and businesses options of apps and services which allow them to pay with their smartphone. Bloomberg Technology noted that, “by 2019, eMarketer estimates that the total value of transactions made by tapping a phone on an in-store terminal will reach $210bn, up from $8.7bn in 2015,” indicating a positive trend in consumer adoption and greater transaction savings for everyone.

ACN: Why do you believe it’s important for retailers with offline stores to consider new payments solutions? What does this do for their engagement of customers?

PG: Today’s customer demands a personalised and seamless experience while interacting with a brand which is impossible to deliver with traditional marketing levers of price, product, place and promotion. Retailers can make the most of the digitisation of cash by introducing a mobile payment option, which not only provides convenience to customers, but also paves the way for an effective loyalty program tailored to capture the smartphone-savvy millennial audience. These programs often result in returning and more frequent customer purchases. In addition, managing cash for merchants can also be expensive and other modes of payments such as credit cards involve a high transactional fee which can be saved in this case and partially reinvested to create additional benefits to customers.

ACN: Are there any emerging information technology trends that you see influencing payment processes?

PG: The digital payments space has been seeing a fair amount of traction of late, with start-ups as well as large organisations such as banks, and the Government, exploring potential. While the specific functionality can differ from one provider to the next, the underlying fact is that the time is right for a digitally-enhanced payment and transaction method. We will be seeing continuing innovation in this space, in mobile applications, blockchain and its growing popularity, and the emergence of a strong ecosystem that accepts and supports digital payments.